Tuesday’s party primaries delivered some surprising results, like Keisha Lance Bottoms’ resounding win in the Democratic gubernatorial race. But voters have another month for the final outcomes of other contests.
Stick with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution as we sift through the results and the AJC’s team of experienced journalists report what happened, what it means and what’s next as we head to the runoffs in June and the general election in November.
Keisha Lance Bottoms was mayor of Atlanta, but her margin of victory in Tuesday's Democratic gubernatorial primary in the city she once ran was pretty slim.
Bottoms got just 391 more votes than former state Sen. Jason Esteves from voters in Atlanta.
Precinct-level results show that Esteves had the support of voters in northern and eastern parts of Atlanta, including Buckhead.
Compare Tuesday's results to Bottoms’ win over Mary Norwood in the 2017 mayoral runoff, and the map is familiar, with support for her coming from the southern and eastern parts of the city in places like Ben Hill, Boulder Park and Bankhead.
On Tuesday, Bottoms’ margin of victory across the state more than made up for the tight Atlanta vote. She cruised to victory, avoiding a runoff despite a crowd of competitors.
While Republicans are still waiting to learn who will represent them in two elections on the Georgia Public Service Commission this fall, Democrats have clarity after election day.
In the PSC District 5 Democratic primary, Shelia Edwards won outright over opponents Angelia Pressley and Craig Cupid, according to The Associated Press. The victory is Edwards' second in a PSC primary.
Back in 2022, she won the District 3 Democratic primary, but never got a shot in the general election after the contests were postponed because of a legal challenge to Georgia’s statewide elections for PSC seats.
Incumbent Commissioner Peter Hubbard will be the Democratic candidate in the PSC District 3 race this fall. Hubbard, who ran unopposed in the Democratic primary, will face the winner of the Republican primary between Fitz Johnson and Brandon Martin in November. That race has not yet been called.
Former state Sen. John F. Kennedy will face state Sen. Greg Dolezal in the Republican runoff for lieutenant governor.
Kennedy, the former president pro tem of the Senate, was the top vote-getter in Tuesday's primary. But he didn't get enough support to win the nomination outright.
Dolezal campaigned as a MAGA warrior, while Kennedy portrayed himself as a more traditional conservative. The winner will face one of the two Democrats competing for their party’s nomination — state Sen. Josh McLaurin and former state Sen. Nabilah Parkes.
Nonprofit leader Nikki Porcher and community organizer Michelle “Michi” Sanchez will advance to the June 16 Democratic runoff for Georgia labor commissioner.
The winner will face Republican incumbent Bárbara Rivera Holmes, who secured the GOP nomination unopposed.
Holmes is seeking her first full term. She was appointed to the post by Gov. Brian Kemp after the death of Commissioner Bruce Thompson in November 2024.
Fulton County Superior Court judges Paige Reese Whitaker and Craig Schwall lost in nonpartisan election challenges by prosecutors Nikia Smith Sellers and Janice Moore.
Whitaker, a former Fulton County prosecutor, has been a judge on the court since 2017. She’s handled several notable cases, including the sprawling gang and racketeering case against rapper Young Thug and others that involved Georgia’s longest trial.
Sellers got 50.8% of the vote against Whitaker, according to unofficial results published by the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office.
Moore won 60% of the vote in her race against Schwall, who has been on the court since 2005. She said her campaign was “built on the community.”
“Thank you to every voter, volunteer, supporter, church, neighborhood, and organization that believed in this vision,” Moore wrote in a public Facebook post Wednesday. “I am honored by your trust and look forward to serving as your next Fulton County Superior Court Judge with integrity, fairness, and compassion.”
Whitaker and Schwall were among three judges challenged by Fulton County prosecutors in Tuesday’s nonpartisan judicial elections.
Prosecutor Will Wooten lost his race against Georgia Court of Appeals Judge Trenton Brown.
Wooten, who secured 36% of the vote against Brown, helped Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis prosecute President Donald Trump and his allies in an election interference case tied to the 2020 presidential election. Brown authored an opinion that ended Willis’ involvement in the Trump case in 2024 and set it on a path to dismissal before trial.
A Snellville Democrat will challenge incumbent Republican Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper in the November election.
Katherine Juhan-Arnold defeated fellow Democrat Sedrick Rowe Jr. in Tuesday’s primary election. Juhan-Arnold is the founder of Baby Katie’s Pharm & Kitchen, a Snellville nonprofit that connects farmers with markets and families with fresh, locally-grown food.
Harper is a former state senator and seventh-generation farmer who was elected agriculture commissioner in 2022.
A big political talking point across the nation is President Donald Trump's impact on primary races, especially where he has a score to settle.
Last night in Kentucky's primaries, a Trump-backed challenger toppled U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, whose fierce independence put him on the president's hit list.
In Georgia, Trump's influence was apparent — on both Republicans and Democrats.
Read this analysis from AJC senior political reporter Greg Bluestein on the "Trump test" in Georgia to get caught up.
What a night!
If you are just catching up this morning, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has you covered with news and insights on Tuesday's wild primaries.
You can find a lot of our coverage and links to more in our live updates, but also be sure to check out this morning's Politically Georgia newsletter for key takeaways.
You can get the PG newsletter delivered to your inbox every day by subscribing to it here.
The outcomes of some of Tuesday's party primary races are still undecided. But one thing is clear — we're doing it again.
A number of key races in Georgia are headed for a June 16 runoff. That includes the Republican primaries for governor and U.S. Senate, Democratic and Republican primaries for lieutenant governor, and multiple U.S. House primaries.
The AJC answers your questions about runoffs, including why we have them when most states don't.
You can find that story here.
According to voter participation files posted Wednesday morning by the Georgia Secretary of State's Office, more than 2 million voters cast ballots in yesterday's primary.
Records show 1.1 million voters cast Democratic ballots compared to 910,000 in Republican races. Another 40,000 voters chose a nonpartisan ballot.
More than half of those voters — 51% — cast a ballot before election day, and those were overwhelmingly at in-person, advanced voting locations.
Georgia has more than 8 million registered voters, and estimated turnout for the primary was 25%.
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